Citroen Total WRT C3 WRCs head for Winter Wonderland

08.02.2019: Whilst the world skiing championship are currently being held in the country, Sweden is also preparing to be thrilled by a different set of acrobatic talents next week.
Tightrope walkers like Sébastien Ogier – Julien Ingrassia and Esape

Whilst the world skiing championship are currently being held in the country, Sweden is also preparing to be thrilled by a different set of acrobatic talents next week.

Tightrope walkers like Sébastien Ogier – Julien Ingrassia and Esapekka Lappi – Janne Ferm, the crews competing in the Citroën Total World Rally Team’s two C3 WRCs, will brave the forests of Värmland at the second round – and the only one held exclusively on snow and ice – of the world rally championship.

Dominated by Scandinavian drivers in its first twenty-eight years in the WRC, Rally Sweden has only been won three times by non-Nordic crews since 1973. Winners for the first time in 2013, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are the only ones to have achieved the feat three times (their other victories coming in 2015 and 2016), which suggests that they know how to manage the subtleties of this high-speed balancing act.

It is an exercise that differs each year due to the amount of snow and ice on the roads, which can vary enormously from one year to the next. After securing Citroën Racing’s historic hundredth win in the WRC at Monte-Carlo and the forty-fifth of their career, Sébastien and Julien will have the tough job of running first on the road in Sweden with C3 WRC and carving out the racing line for the rest of the field if there is fresh snow on the surface. Another difficulty at an event that is hardly lacking in that department!

Introduced to racing on frozen lakes from a very young age like most Nordic drivers, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm– despite having only made two appearances in Sweden to date – have a genuine feel for driving in these unusual conditions, where skill and bravery are needed in equal measure. You only need look at their performance in 2018, where they finished with a flourish on Sunday’s leg.

The pair claimed one second fastest time (just 1.3s off the pace) and two stage wins, including the Power Stage. Their strong finish meant they ended the rally fourth overall, which suggests that they will be serious contenders for a podium spot this year, especially as they are due to start 10th in the running order.

Since finishing as runner-up last year after a hard-fought battle at the front, the C3 WRC has had improvements made to its dampers and suspension geometry.

In order that they could adapt the new set-up as effectively as possible to this unique surface, which is only encountered once per season, and enable them to continue to get used to their new car, each of the Citroën Total WRT crews were able to take part in two days of pre-event testing in the kind of tough conditions they can expect next weekend.

KEY FIGURES

19 timed stages covering a total of 316.80 km

384– the number of studs glued into drilled holes on the tread on each of the Michelin tyres used

1 win claimed by Citroën at the 2004 Rally Sweden (Xsara WRC)

123.5 kph – the average top speed reached during last year’s rally on the Hof Finnskog stage

REACTIONS FROM…

Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal

“After making a great start to the season in Monte-Carlo, we are obviously determined to maintain our good form and challenge for the podium at this rally, where we finished as runners-up last year. However, we are very well aware that it’ll be a huge challenge and that it will be a very closely contested race.

It’s a surface where confidence behind the wheel is critical. That is why we tried to ensure Sébastien and Esapekka come into the event in the best possible shape over the four days of testing. In principle, given that he is first on the road, Sébastien will not have an easy task, but we know how talented and tenacious he is.

Meanwhile, Esapekka should have a better position in the running order and with the speed he showed last year, he’ll certainly have a great chance.“

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